Phelan Report Season 143 Final 4 Edition
We made it to the Final Four, the place every WIS Coach wants to be. Before we get to the final four matchups let’s recap some of the wilder moments of the tournament.
Where are the 1 seeds?
The #1 overall seed Kentucky was surprised by Coach Bennett(me) and the Billikins in the second round. “We looked for their weakness in game planning and realized our only shot was to go at them as hard as we could for 40 minutes. Our depth was the only advantage we had so we played to that as much as we could. “ Said Coach Bennett, two time national runner up. The Billikins ended up beating the Wildcats and sending BBN home in overtime with with a dunk by Fr PF Casey 3 seconds left on the clock.
Xavier was struck down by the Hawkeyes in the second round as well. “I’m sad but proud of what I did here at Xavier. I just wish we could have won a few more games.” Said Bonner. PG Bonner will finish his career at Xavier in the top 20 in pts and ast for the program. This game ended in free throws and Xavier just didn’t have the energy to finish the game. Iowa then lost to now final four contender Maryland.
Georgia Tech could not stop Stanford in their pursuit to the final four. Jr Sg Samayoa put up a season high 28 pts. “I do not want to go home” is all he said in his post-game interview. Coach Garbage was quoted after the game, “I still believe we had the best team out there but they wanted it more. “ Sr PG Alexander sent his team to the final four with a last second 3 pts attempt that put them up by 2.
#3 seed Vandy took down 1 seededTCU in another OT battle. These teams fought earlier in the season as well and TCU won in that game. Undefeated TCU finally met their match” This was one hell of a season. One hell of a ride. I’m proud of my guys and look forward to trying to get there again next year. “ said Coach TXHick when asked about barely missing the final four.
Final four Matchups
UCLA vs Stanford
UCLA Reaches their 3rd final four in the Last 6 seasons. “Final Fours are great and all but UCLA Fans expect championships year in and year out. That’s is our end goal. “ coach Buddhagamer explained over the weekend. The bruins havnt won a championship in almost 20 seasons.
Stanford is on the hunt for their first Championship. Coach Patterson hasn’t taken Stanford past the second round until this season his 10th with the program. “ We are pumped to be here! I told the guys to go have fun out there because everything from here on out is house money. We made it to our goal of a final four but I think we can win 2 more.” Said Patterson.
My Prediction UCLA -3. Stanford won the CT Championship but UCLA wants the National Championship more. ALthough im rooting for Stanford here just to have a shot at their first NC.
Maryland vs Vandy
Maryland has 3 prior Championships. 1 was on by current coach of Vandy, Coach Chapelhillne. The other 2 were won by current coach cem6989. So needless to say there is some weird blood here. I wouldn’t say bad blood because some fans of Maryland still love coach chapel. “He brought us our first championship. I cant hate a man that gave me so much joy, but I do want to ruin his day this weekend” was the response a fan gave when asked about the matchup.
Vandy is trying to go to back 2 back national championships games. They are also on the hunt for their 2nd National championship with the last one won in season 7. That is not a typo, yes season 7 is Vandy’s last championship. Coach Chapelhillne took Vandy from irrelevant to National powerhouse in under 10 season.
My prediction Vanderbilt -1. This game will be close but I think the experienced gained from going to the final four last season will pay off.
Let me know if you guys see it play out differently. Also if you want to share any other wild moments from the tournament this season please do so below. Go Billikins! Go Cards!